Written by a practitioner of mathematics, philosophy, taiji, gluten-free cooking, chant, meditation, gardening, and renovation, with no particular end in mind. Were there an end, it would come too soon, and the Path would cease to Wander.

20 June 2005

Last summer I started taking lessons in the Cheng Man Ching Taiji sword form. It has been quite enjoyable, as well as quite a challenge. I took to it more quickly than many of my classmates, perhaps because I have some experience with olympic style foil-fencing. But carrying a sword around town, even a wooden one, does tend to draw a bit of attention. ;-)

One time I rode the bus around campus with the sword tucked into the top strap of my backpack. I got some odd looks, and one person was brave enough to ask "Are you in drama?" I just grinned and said "Nope. Sword form practice."

Another time I was practicing at Alameda Park, and as always I began with some meditation. That day I chose seated meditation, in lotus. An older guy and a younger one, probably the older one's grandson, were in the playground area. The older one said, "I don't know why people do that yoga sh*t," in a voice obviously meant to carry. I finished my meditation, skipped over a few warmup exercises and went straight into the sword form. Didn't hear another peep from the old guy.

Just recently I was walking back from the same park and I cut through the alley behind my house to get home. Some kids were playing in a camper. One said "Hi," so I said "Hi." Then as I was going past, I heard a startled "Whooah!" :-D I expect that they noticed the wooden practice sword strapped to my back. I had a similar experience today at Reed Gym: a kid's eyes got wide when he noticed the sword, and he said, "Nice sword!" I just said, "Thanks!"

This tale isn't directly related to sword form, but this is as good a place as any to put it. While I was practicing at Ammon Park, I noticed a black cat playing in some of the taller grass. As I was getting ready to leave, I saw the cat again, hiding in the tall grass. I approached the cat's position slowly, knelt down a few feet away, and said "Hey, kitty-cat!" The cat gave me a horrified look that clearly said, "You can see me?!??" and took off as fast as it could. Ah well.